Diving

[pensivedoc]

Hey guys and gals, I've been missing you all.

I haven't been around much for a while. Primarily this is due to "work-stuff" that I come here to escape, so I won't go into it.

I have a question. I became interested in diving around the same time I was buying my 16610 (embarrassed to say, back when I bought it, I wasn't even aware that it is a "dive watch," Duh.)

I just finished the confined water part of training yesterday and am registered to go the the "Blue Hole" in New Mexico at the end of the month for open water cert. I've noticed a number of you here dive and I'd love to hear any tips, anecdotes, warnings, suggestions, etc. you might have for a beginner. You know, the "I wish someone had told me. . ." stuff.

Thanks all,

Jason

[pensivedoc]

Oh, one more thing. Since I wore the watch all day yesterday in the 14 ft saltwater pool, it has now officially been in something deeper than my shower. :)

[Gedanken]

Hey, welcome back, Jason! I haven't dived for ages and I'm still waiting to take my SD out for its maiden dive. The person you'd really want to talk to is Peter - he's not called Padi for nothing!

[Rockrolex]

Welcome back, Jason. We've missed you.

As for diving info, both Peter (Padi) and Dave (Subfiend) are certified divers (in addition to being certifiable - but that's another story ).

They should be able to give you some tips that those of us who have never been deeper than the bottom of a pool can't do.

[Gedanken]

Whoops, I keep associating Dave with submarines instead of scuba tanks. Mea culpa!

[Rockrolex]

Originally Posted by Gedanken

Whoops, I keep associating Dave with submarines instead of scuba tanks. Mea culpa!

Duh, check Dave's avatar, James.

[JJ Irani]

Welcome back, Doc. You were missed. David and Padi would be the best guys here to answer all your queries, so just ask away to glory!

[Subfiend]

Hi Doc,

I have only made five submersible dives. Nothing to brag about. But I have been scuba diving for 26 of my 40 years. (Nevertheless, I can't hold a candle to Padi.)

Do you have any specific questions?

Here are a few tips you may not know:

1. Don't dive when you're tired. You have a much greater chance of getting the bends.
2. Ditto for hung over, and the risk is even greater if you are dehydrated. (I know, it seems obvious, but some people still forget.)
3. Don't trust your computer.
4. Do trust your Submariner.
5. Wear both your computer and your Submariner.
6. Redundancy is the key to safety.
7. If you buy a computer (and who doesn't?), take the time to research the algorithms used in various models (there are four, and they vary considerably).
8. Sharks are like dogs. If you don't bother them, they will not bother you. Don't pull their tails.
9. Don't be afraid to try a live aboard dive vacation.
10. Waivers really are enforceable, especially if you sign them before you get on the boat.
11. The first piece of equipment you should buy (after your mask, fin and snorkel) is a regulator. Don't skimp.
12. Rent a few different BCs before you buy one. Then buy one with lots of D rings.
13. If you have fantasies about exploring deep wrecks like the Andrea Doria, or someday getting into technical diving, TAKE YOUR TIME! Don't rush into it. Don't try to make a 150+ foot dive with less than 100 dives in your log book.
14. Do get certified through Advanced Open Water ASAP. It's best to have your first experience night diving or diving to 100 feet early, and with somebody competent by your side (like an instructor).
15. Stay out of caves, unless you are using a rebreather.

Have fun!

[dman]

Jason, I was thinking about you yesterday. Great to see ya back!! Hope the move in went smooth and you have bought all your furniture.

Hope to see more of ya around. Be well.

[padi56]

Well think Dave have said most of it.
1 Never ever dive if you have cold.
2 Always do a safety stop,before returning,to surface.
ASCEND SLOWLY - Ascend slower than 60 feet per minute,tip if you overtake your exhaust bubbles you are ascending to fast.
3 Never dive over your qualification,stay well within your limits,there is always tomorrow.
4 Relax and take your time,breath deep and slow.
5 Always stay with your buddy,make sure you are correctly weighted,on surface ,water should roughly cut halfway though your mask,if you exhale you should sink.
6 Always do a full buddy check before your dive.
7 Never ever get low on air.BEGIN YOUR ASCENT WITH 500 PSI 34/bar OR MORE IN YOUR TANK.
8 If you cannot equalise your ears abort dive
9 Make sure you equalise your air space in face mask on decent.
10 Have a proper medical,important.
11 Listen carefully to the dive guide’s briefing,plan all dives carefully.
12 Maintain buoyancy control on reef dives avoid damage to coral and yourself, myself like a wing type BC.
13 Always wear a dive suit, which helps avoid stings from coral and sea life,even in tropical waters,never dive in bare skin
14 Always wash your dive kit in fresh water after each days diving,look after your kit it will look after you.
15 Leave the last day free of diving, prior to flying home. This will help reduce the chances of suffering from decompression illness on the flight.
16 Just think safety,stay out of strong sun,it all come down to practise and good training, and plain common sense,enjoy your self in the other world below,don't run before you can walk. Just watch your instructor you will be fine,if you are doing PADI open-water I recommend you do your advanced, straight after
17 Take out some proper diving insurance,for yourself,and if you own your equipment.
18.Why risk loosing or scratching your Rolex,when a Citizen
Aqualand 11 will give you far more diving related information, than the time lapse bezel on your Rolex.And cost a lot less.Mine have done a lot work underwater,without missing a beat all that for about £150.Good luck Jason in a great new wonderful hobby.

[Gedanken]

Now is this place a goldmine of knowledge or what?

[Subfiend]

I have a gentleman's disagreement with Padi about not risking your Sub, but I recognize we are entitled to hold our own opinions. Personally, I would never dive without one of my Subs or my SD.

Tuck this little thought into the back of your head for ten years from now:

Overconfidence kills more divers than any other cause. Complacency is a close second.

I cannot emphasize enough that you should know your limits and stay well within them. Diving is a lazy man's sport, and I like it that way. Relax, have fun and don't push yourself. You can always come back tomorrow if you decide to come up early.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

I have a gentleman's disagreement with Padi about not risking your Sub, but I recognize we are entitled to hold our own opinions. Personally, I would never dive without one of my Subs or my SD.

Tuck this little thought into the back of your head for ten years from now:

Overconfidence kills more divers than any other cause. Complacency is a close second.

Well Dave I will agree to disagree about the watches,but 200% agree with the other statement.About 6 years ago
in a place called Stoney Cove fresh water A young diver got into serious trouble,just recently certified PADI openwater took course in tropical warm water with high viz.Then he tried to dive back in England in very cold water,with very low viz,a totally different environment,which he had no training for.If it was not for our group there at the time doing a Rescue Diver course, he would have undoubtedly lost his life.

Originally Posted by Gedanken

Now is this place a goldmine of knowledge or what?

Or what.

[Subfiend]

I know of three sad stories concerning experienced divers dying locally because of dumb mistakes.

1. Experienced diver wants to experience hypoxia (to see what it feels like) while he is taking a closed circuit rebreather course in an indoor swimming pool, so he turns off his rebreather while sitting in the shallow end. He drowned in 4 ft. of water, with a class of students nearby.

2. Experienced scuba instructor wants to build time on his personal closed circuit rebreather, so he wears it while he is teaching a student how to use a semi-closed rebreather. Student has an equipment problem just before entering a cold fresh water quarry on a hot August day, instructor stands in the hot sun while fixing the problem, becomes overheated and then they both flop into the water to cool off. Because he focused on his student's equipment and not his own, instructor forgot to turn on the electronics on his rebreather. He passed out from hypoxia 11 minutes into his dive and drowned.

3. New diver (less than 100 dives) can't wait to become a deep wreck diver, so he purchases all of the required equipment off the Internet after his local dive shop refused to sell it to him without first obtaining more experience. Shortly after entering the water on a wreck dive off the coast of New Jersey, diver is observed breaching the surface at a high rate of speed, and then submerging again. He failed to surface one hour later. After his body was recovered, it was determined that he initially rocketed to the surface after he tried to slow his descent by adding air to his dry suit instead of his BC. The air went to his feet and he was not able to vent it. He suffered an air embolism and probably drowned.

[JJ Irani]

What a wealth of knowledge and information from Padi and Dave!! Excellent! I think I'll take up diving!!

[Subfiend]

Here's another, more personal story that could have turned out badly.

Yours truly begins to ascend after a 50 minute dive from a depth of 60 feet in the open ocean near an island in the Galapagos chain, with 500 psi left in my tank, when a whale shark is spotted off in the distance. I give chase to the whale shark, the first one I have ever seen, for about one minute, huffing and puffing and expending a great deal of effort. After the whale shark glides past, I check my guages and am shocked to discover that I am now at a depth of 95 feet, alone in the deep blue sea (except for the occasional silky and hammerhead sharks within my 100 feet of visibility), with about 250 psi left in my tank. And I have exceeded my no decompression limits and must do at least a 5 minute deco stop on the way up.

I was very scared.

I made it back to the surface, after a very long and nerve-wracking ascent, with less than 50 psi in my tank. I am not proud of this accomplishment, but I will try to learn from it and not do it again.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

Here's another, more personal story that could have turned out badly.

Yours truly begins to ascend after a 50 minute dive from a depth of 60 feet in the open ocean near an island in the Galapagos chain, with 500 psi left in my tank, when a whale shark is spotted off in the distance. I give chase to the whale shark, the first one I have ever seen, for about one minute, huffing and puffing and expending a great deal of effort. After the whale shark glides past, I check my guages and am shocked to discover that I am now at a depth of 95 feet, alone in the deep blue sea (except for the occasional silky and hammerhead sharks within my 100 feet of visibility), with about 250 psi left in my tank. And I have exceeded my no decompression limits and must do at least a 5 minute deco stop on the way up.

I was very scared.

I made it back to the surface, after a very long and nerve-wracking ascent, with less than 50 psi in my tank. I am not proud of this accomplishment, but I will try to learn from it and not do it again.

Hey David,

I think of all the guys on this forum, you've had more scrapes and near misses with death than any one of us.

Glad to see you alive and posting, pal!!

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Hey David,

I think of all the guys on this forum, you've had more scrapes and near misses with death than any one of us.

Glad to see you alive and posting, pal!!

Don't speak too soon JJ. I've had plenty myself (remember, I've been hit by six different cars, among other mishaps).

Besides, you probably have had the most near-death experiences every time you decide to flip a watch, a little piece inside you must die.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Don't speak too soon JJ. I've had plenty myself (remember, I've been hit by six different cars, among other mishaps).

Besides, you probably have had the most near-death experiences every time you decide to flip a watch, a little piece inside you must die.

Well, there you go, pal...glad to see BOTH of us alive and posting!!

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

Here's another, more personal story that could have turned out badly.

Yours truly begins to ascend after a 50 minute dive from a depth of 60 feet in the open ocean near an island in the Galapagos chain, with 500 psi left in my tank, when a whale shark is spotted off in the distance. I give chase to the whale shark, the first one I have ever seen, for about one minute, huffing and puffing and expending a great deal of effort. After the whale shark glides past, I check my guages and am shocked to discover that I am now at a depth of 95 feet, alone in the deep blue sea (except for the occasional silky and hammerhead sharks within my 100 feet of visibility), with about 250 psi left in my tank. And I have exceeded my no decompression limits and must do at least a 5 minute deco stop on the way up.

I was very scared.

I made it back to the surface, after a very long and nerve-wracking ascent, with less than 50 psi in my tank. I am not proud of this accomplishment, but I will try to learn from it and not do it again.

Well Dave we have all made mistakes,but you learnt a sharp lesson you will never forget. And I must say a camera can be deadly,in clear water.Myself once in the Red Sea after doing my bottom time at 38m.Then starting my return to the surface spotted a eagle ray below me on sand,started to go back
down again, good job my buddy Ted stopped me.That taught me the lesson of my life,when its time to go up,thats it thats just what you do.But today with the modern diving gear and when properly trained diving,is know more dangerous than many other sports,as long as you stick to the rules.I still help out most Thursdays in the pool getting club members,ready for their open water .But my open water diving days are over.But if I can still pass a little
bit of knowledge training, to future sports divers that will make me very happy.

[Subfiend]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Hey David,

I think of all the guys on this forum, you've had more scrapes and near misses with death than any one of us.

Glad to see you alive and posting, pal!!

JJ,

My motto in life, when faced with the choice of whether or not to do something, has always been: "I've paid more money to do stupider things."

Some of those things have been dangerous.

Why do you think they asked me to write the Foreward to "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel"?

[pensivedoc]

Wow, thanks, guys. I'll study your replies. I'm supposed to do my open water cert in Santa Rosa, NM at the end of the month. I'm really excited about it, but I'm not so excited about what I anticipate to be major "shrinkage.

[Subfiend]

Don't worry about that. It's better than the pinching your wetsuit will give you in that area.

[baseballduck]

Ok, here is a question for you diving pros. Do you think it's smart for a 14 year old (me) to get his SCUBA certification? This is if my parents let me. My dad has his, and although he has not been diving in a long time he still knows how dangerous it is. That is why they are still deciding on whether I can get it or not. He has had a friend he lost in a diving accident. Anyway, what do you think on the matter?

Tyler

[Gedanken]

Well, Tyler, you dad does have a point that it's dangerous, but I don't know if it's an age thing. Hell, I know plenty of 40-year-olds whom I wouldn't trust to handle a Bic Banana.

As you can see in this thread, especially with the advice that Peter and Dave have provided, if you're going to be diving you will need to be particularly methodical. There are quite a few procedures involving keeping track of your air pressure, your depth and your decompression, and Dave's Galapagos experience shows that even seasoned pros can get themselves into trouble if they get distracted by something else. Maybe the best thing is to take the time to convince your dad that you are that methodical before broaching the subject.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by baseballduck

Ok, here is a question for you diving pros. Do you think it's smart for a 14 year old (me) to get his SCUBA certification? This is if my parents let me. My dad has his, and although he has not been diving in a long time he still knows how dangerous it is. That is why they are still deciding on whether I can get it or not. He has had a friend he lost in a diving accident. Anyway, what do you think on the matter?

Tyler

Think now with PADI the junior diver certification .Young divers under the age of 15 must be required to dive under the direct supervision of a certified adult, min certification PADI advanced. And, this age group is restricted to a depth of no more than 18 metres/60 feet, or 21 metres/70 feet for Junior Advanced Open Water Divers.This ensures that junior divers are subjected to only minimal decompression stress.The most important thing Tyler is proper training and the willingness to obey all things you are told.And have a proper diving medical,diving today is no more dangerous than many sports like
football,field hockey, skiing, gymnastics, skateboarding, bicycling, snowboarding, volleyball, martial arts and other contact adventure sports and recreations.In fact there are many more injuries in these sports,even when you take the relativity small number in scuba As long as you get proper training obey all the rules to the letter Tyler go ahead get yourself scuba certified,but have a proper diving medical first.

[Subfiend]

Originally Posted by baseballduck

Ok, here is a question for you diving pros. Do you think it's smart for a 14 year old (me) to get his SCUBA certification?

Yes. I started diving when I was 14. I also started my son diving in the pool when he was seven. He turns ten this summer, and he will probably be certified long before he turns 14.

Follow what Padi said and you should be fine.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

Yes. I started diving when I was 14. I also started my son diving in the pool when he was seven. He turns ten this summer, and he will probably be certified long before he turns 14.

Follow what Padi said and you should be fine.

Agree Dave both my sons dive,and now my Grandson have taken a interest He has been in my club pool,and had his first try of breathing underwater about 3 weeks ago he is nearly 15.

[baseballduck]

Thanks for that guys.

Tyler